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Even if there had never been a Superchunk, music would still owe Mac McCaughan for Merge Records, which has brought us outstanding work from The Magnetic Fields, Rock*a*Teens, Neutral Milk Hotel, and McCaughan's own Portastatic. Merge celebrates its tenth anniversary with this release, featuring mostly new work from these and 15 other acts. Notable tracks include Rocket from the Crypt's one-round knockout "What Took You So Long," an alternative version of the Magnetic Fields' transcendent "Take Ecstasy with Me," featuring Susan Anway's vocals and Bo Diddley-esque percussion, and "Engine" by Neutral Milk Hotel, which is the strongest hint of the backwoods country underlying their loopy experimentalism. Superchunk itself contributes a reworking of "Clover" with a Hendrixian freakout coda. Guv'ner annoys with its demented children's singalong "Lucky Ladybug," and Beatnik Filmstars contribute an odd and slightly overlong bit of Residential primitive blooping and beeping in "Hypo-Boxing." Maybe the most impressive track is Portastatic's "Easily Aroused." McCaughan sings in a lower register than usual and surrounds his vocals with acoustic guitar and a lovely yet vaguely unsettling collection of stray synths, electric guitar scrabble, and plucked violin, topping it off with a sharp acoustic guitar solo. Those who complain that Superchunk can only do the same song over and over again ought to check out what Mac can do outside that band's confines. Any fan of Merge acts can complain about omissions - but hey, whaddaya want, a forklift-requiring box set? |
